[LOS ANGELES] Disney said Jimmy Kimmel Live will return to its ABC network lineup on Tuesday, six days after it suspended the talk-show host following threats by the Federal Communications Commission chairman over comments the host had made about Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer.
This marked the highest-profile move from the private sector to challenge a string of efforts by US President Donald Trump to crack down on his perceived media critics through litigation and threats of regulatory action.
In announcing the decision, ABC’s parent company said it had suspended production of the late-night comedy show “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.”
Disney said the company felt some of Kimmel’s comments in question “were ill-timed and thus insensitive.” After further discussions with Kimmel, “we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” Disney said.
Disney CEO Bob Iger, Disney Entertainment Co-Chair Dana Walden and Kimmel were in talks over the weekend and reached a decision on Monday to return Kimmel to the air, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The decision was guided by what was in the entertainment company’s best interest, rather than external pressure from station owners or the FCC, the sources said.
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Kimmel is expected to address the issue when his show returns on Tuesday, according to the sources.
A spokeswoman for Kimmel could not immediately be reached for comment.
Trump, who has repeatedly pressured broadcasters to stop airing content that he has found objectionable, had celebrated the news of Kimmel’s suspension and referred to it erroneously as an outright cancellation of the show.
Kimmel, who has frequently targeted Trump in his show, drew fire for remarks he made last Monday about the Sep 10 assassination of Kirk, who was gunned down while addressing a crowd of 3,000 people on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem.
Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative political activist and podcast host, had been credited for building support for Trump and the Republican Party among young voters in 2024.
A 22-year-old technical school student from Utah has been charged with his murder, and the precise motive for the killing remains unclear.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has used his office and the courts to attack unflattering speech about him that he has called defamatory or false.
Throughout both his terms, Trump has threatened to rescind licenses for local broadcast affiliates of the national networks. The licenses are approved by the Federal Communications Commission, a nominally independent regulatory body.
Disney’s move signals the first big push back against the Trump administration by big media.
Disney shares closed down 1 per cent.
ABC suspended Kimmel’s show on Wednesday after Carr threatened investigations and regulatory action against licensed broadcasters who aired Kimmel.
The owners of dozens of local TV stations affiliated with ABC said they would no longer carry the show, including Nexstar, which needs FCC approval for a US$6.2 billion merger with Tegna.
On Friday, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz, a Republican, said Carr’s threat was dangerous. REUTERS
